FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska - Airman 1st Class John McCaherty, Air Force, 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron, and Specialist Kenty Cruz, Army, 95th Chemical Reconnoissance, operate control panels for an unmanned ground vehicle designed to enter a contaminated area and asses the threat level from a safe distance, during a joint military operation Northern Edge 2007. This exercise is part of a national-level Ardent Sentry/Northern Edge 2007 -- a joint chiefs of staff-directed, U.S. Northern Command-Sponsored homeland defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities exercise. (United States Air Force by Senior Airman Garrett Hothan)

What is This New Russian Combat UGV Designed for?

Russia’s new combat-capable Marker unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is reportedly an experimental platform that will interact with special forces to test and mature emerging technologies and concepts of operation. The platform serves as a basis for creating combat operations models in the future.

The Marker combat UGV is a joint project between the Foundation for Advanced Studies (FPI), Russia’s equivalent to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in conjunction with the NGO ‘Android Technology’.

The tracked vehicle features a slightly sloped front glacis plate and is equipped with a remote weapons station (RWS). The RWS is armed with a Kalashnikov machine gun (MG) as its primary armament with sensors and optics fitted to the front and top of the turret structure, with two anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) mounted opposite the MG.

Among the mission systems included in the platform are a laser warning system, thermal sensors, day/night infrared cameras, laser rangefinder, target detection, early warning system, identification, and tracking equipment, according to janes.com.

The vehicle can be controlled remotely or work in tandem with a soldier, receiving target designation from the sight of the soldier’s weapon.

The UGV is being developed to test the technologies being created using an aggregate-modular design principle, as reported by army-guide.com. It has been designed with open information architecture to facilitate future technology insertions without requiring major modifications.

A video footage of the vehicle emerged in early February.

FPI and Android Technology had previously created the Fedor humanoid robot, which was transferred to Roskosmos.